Are you Eating to Cope with Life?

Emotional Eating is, for many Women, a coping mechanism for dealing with difficult and uncomfortable feelings or emotions in their everyday lives. It is in fact an Eating Disorder but I find that those with this issue are rarely given the support they need and deserve.

If you have spent years dieting and know you use food when life is difficult, perhaps eating alone or secretly, please read on.

Are you and Emotional Eater?

Some signs that you are using food to cope with emotions…

Do you use food to cope with how you feel?

Do you secretly eat or eat more when alone and in distress?

Do you eat when you are not really hungry and without awareness?

What might make you Emotionally Eat?

Anger

Extreme hunger

Fear

Loneliness

Sadness

Depression

Anxiety

Worry

Feeling out of control

What can you do?

Number One

First of all accept you do have this issue and you are a step closer to making a positive lifelong change. You can only change what you see.

Number Two

Keep a diary of what’s happening in your life, what you eat, when and importantly how you feel. This will start to reveal your triggers.

Some questions to start you off..

What else can you use to positively manage life?

What tools do you have to help yourself change?

What do else do you need to help yourself?

Where am I and who am I with when I do the behaviour?

Your Checklist for Lifelong Positive Change!

1.   Learn to deal with your emotions and find new positive outlets for your negative thoughts and feelings.

2.   Follow a ‘normal’ balanced diet with a variety of foods. Remember not to choose fad diets or food restriction.

3.   Eat regularly 3 Meals and Snacks, seek help with choices

4.   Learn to speak about how you feel. The majority of Emotional Eaters don’t communicate how they feel effectively.

5.   Use people in your life positively! Share and exchange information about how life is for you and your feelings.

6.   Build easy to maintain activity into your life.

7.   Be kind to yourself, Rome wasn’t built in a day and long-term behaviour isn’t changed over night.

Please remember that Emotional Eating won’t change with a diet and fitness plan. You will repeat your old habits eventually, when you next experience your specific triggers.

This year make Emotional Eating a thing of the past! Act now and change forever!